April 12, 2008
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina fell to No. 24 Mississippi State, 3-1, in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday at Beckham Field thanks to three costly errors in the first inning. The Gamecocks fall to 20-17 overall and 7-9 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Bulldogs move to 34-15 and 8-10 in league outings.
Freshman Jill Semento and senior Jessica Josker both had 2-for-3 outings at the plate for Carolina. Freshman Laura Mendes saw her hitting streak snapped at eight games, going 0-for-3 in the contest.
The Bulldogs posted three runs in the first, thanks in part to three Gamecock errors. A leadoff walk to Chelsea Bramlett started things off. Ali Bainbridge then reached on an error by Carolina’s second baseman. State then used its speed to get a run, as Bramlett and Bainbridge completed a double steal. The throw to third got away from the Gamecock defense, allowing Bramlett to score and Bainbridge to move to third. Courtney Bures came up and hit a soft pop into shallow right field that hit off the second baseman’s glove and fell in, giving Bainbridge the opportunity to cross the plate. After a groundout that moved Bures to second, Hayle Guess singled to center, plating Bures. Gamecock starter Krystle Robinson got a lineout to right before walking Gina McCloud. The Bulldogs got another double steal to put both runners in scoring position, but Robinson would escape the inning with a strikeout of Brittany Bell.
Semento tried to get Carolina back in the game in the second, hitting the 2-1 pitch from Kelsey Nurnberg onto Weems-Baskin Track for her fifth home run of the season. Josker followed with a base hit and moved to second with one out on a passed ball. But the Gamecocks could not bring her around, as Nurnberg got two strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Carolina threatened again in the sixth, as sophomore Lindsay Walker got a one-out single. After a foul out, Semento followed with an infield hit. Walker moved to third as Bures’ throw from short got away from the first baseman. Josker came up and hit the first pitch to the shortstop hole. The toss barely beat Josker for the third out.
Robinson (7-6) allowed three runs, one earned, on three hits and two walks in two innings. Senior Kate Pouliot gave up just three hits and one walk in five innings while sitting down three in relief. She got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth and another tight spot in the sixth. Nurnberg (16-7) got the victory, scattering six hits over the complete game while striking out five.
The Gamecocks and Bulldogs wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Beckham Field.
